Chiefs, Maidens excel at Polson-Ronan Invite

The Ronan High School cross country team captured a fifth place finish in Saturday afternoon’s race at Silver Fox Golf Course in Pablo.

“The boys did fairly well and I am fairly happy with how they competed,” Chiefs’ coach Noelle Decker said.

Both the Chiefs and Maidens’ cross country team hadn’t had much opportunity to practice outside because of the wild fires.

“It’s been kind of difficult to train,” Decker said. “The kids are pretty resilient and they adapted to it pretty well. They continue to train at a pretty intense level inside with the same type of workouts inside. We are so fortunate to have the running path at the events center. We have the ability to run up on the walking track, continue to move forward and continue to train.”

Chiefs’ Sophomore James Normandeau was the Chiefs highest finisher. Normandeau finished fourth with a total time of 17 minutes, 28 seconds.

“James ran really, really well and he ran pretty darn good for him in his second meet for his sophomore year,” Decker said. “I was pleased with how well he ran.”

Chiefs’ senior Nathan Dennis placed 11th running 18 minutes, 30 seconds. Kiry Detwiler finished 15th with a time of 18 minutes, 46 seconds. Decker said she was “impressed” with how Detwiler ran at the Polson Invitational.

“Detwiler had a nice race yesterday, looked good and his time was pretty good,” Decker said. “His time was pretty good in the season and I was tickled at how well he ran.”

Brant Heiner finished 26th with a time of 19 minutes, 36 seconds. Heiner plays football and participates in cross country and football.

“Brant has done a nice job of juggling both sports and he has such a good work ethic,” Decker said. “I would stop in and see him running. He did a lot of off season preparation for both football and cross country. He made that decision that he was going to do both and physically prepared for taking on both.”

Decker said she is “pleased” with the amount of depth her team has as they continue to transition into the second half of the schedule.

“It is a process to see who is going to fall where into the fourth and fifth running spots with 19 to 20 boys (out for cross country),” Decker said.

Decker said she was “pretty pleased” with her team’s overall performance.

“It was great that we ended up fourth with only Polson, Frenchtown and Hamilton ahead,” Decker said.

Maidens do well in spite of small numbers

Maidens runner Lindsey Brooks finished in the top 20 at the Polson-Ronan Invitational Saturday at Silver Fox Golf Course at Pablo.

The Maidens don’t have enough runners to field a team at this time and Decker said the lack of numbers make everything a “challenge.”

“We are running with three and they are three tough ones,” Decker said. “She shaved a minute off of her time from the Canel Bank run and she is probably going to fare pretty well. It’s hard for the kids to push themselves to the next level and understand that they can push through. They are learning how to race and compete with the others at the high school level and evolve as the season come towards the end.”

Maidens cross country runner Penni Weyant finished in the top 25 with a time of 24 minutes, 24 seconds.

“Penni was about where she has been and did pretty well because she might have improved her time a little bit,” Decker said. “She runs pretty week after week and knows what her role and job is. She improves her jobs each week and is one of my team leaders over the boys and girls. She is taking that leadership role.”

Maidens runner Kinsley Barney placed 37th with a time of 26 minutes.

“Barney shaved about 30 seconds off her time,” Decker said. “She ran fairly well and is running cross country to improve her track time and become a better sprinter. She is learning a whole different sport in this long distance running. She has a great work ethic and does whatever you ask her. She is very coachable and has consistently improved as the season goes on. She will surprise a lot of people.”